AMD spent as much as $8 million on EA/DICE Battlefield 4 deal

A new report from the folks over at Fudzilla says that AMD spent“between $5 and $8 million to secure the Battlefield 4 deal”. The AMD and EA/DICE agreement has several parts including; the exclusive bundling of Battlefield 4 with AMD hardware and an agreement that all game showcases are to be done on AMD hardware.

“Multiple sources” informed Fudzilla of the arrangements and of the huge sum of money exchanged between AMD and EA/DICE. Another potentially important part of the deal is that EA/DICE are going to issue an update for Battlefield 4 with AMD’s Mantle technology implemented in December.

We heard about Mantle during the Radeon R9 and R7 series graphics cards unveiling in Hawaii last week. The Mantle toolset will allow developers to write code which can “speak the native language of the Graphics Core Next architecture, presenting a deeper level of hardware optimization no other graphics card manufacturer can match”. Mantle is also good for developers hoping to get the most out of AMD chip powered next generation consoles, so there are benefits to both parties and to many PC and console owners. Battlefield 4 will launch on the PC platform on 1st November.

AMD Radeon R9 290X set for mid-October launch?

Pre-orders for the AMD Radeon R9 290X start on 3rd October. There is a special Battlefield 4 edition of the graphics card being made available, as seen below.

A recent report hints that the AMD Radeon R9 290X will be available in a fortnight’s time, from 15th October. This rumour stems from certain presentation slides, seen at a Turkish AMD press event, bearing an NDA expiration date of 15th October - suggesting the new graphics cards will be released on that date, when all the reviews will get published.

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I had a very quick go on the beta last night.It made my system feel very dated for the 1st time, I'm hoping either nVidia or Dice come out with some optimisation updates.

I have to say it felt very much like 3 which isn't a bad thing. Although more destruction was possible, it was on the smaller things like iron railings and small outhouse buildings which didnt break apart in the previous version. Many larger buildings only broke in parts.

AGTDentonI have to say it felt very much like 3 which isn't a bad thing. Although more destruction was possible, it was on the smaller things like iron railings and small outhouse buildings which didnt break apart in the previous version. Many larger buildings only broke in parts. Looking forward to playing it in more detail tonight.

Thanks for that - I'm jealous. Then again, I thought the “feel” of BF3 was far in advance of that of the comparable CoD, and I claim to be a CoD fan! So if BF4 is actually “BF3+” (or “BF3S” for the iFans <grin>) then I'll not complain.

AGTDentonI had a very quick go on the beta last night.It made my system feel very dated for the 1st time, I'm hoping either nVidia or Dice come out with some optimisation updates.

You could always upgrade your GF680 to a nice 7970 - with the Hawaii cards coming out the price of the “older” gear should fall. ;)(I'm joking of course - you're right that it should work nicely with a 680)

crossyThanks for that - I'm jealous. Then again, I thought the “feel” of BF3 was far in advance of that of the comparable CoD, and I claim to be a CoD fan! So if BF4 is actually “BF3+” (or “BF3S” for the iFans <grin>) then I'll not complain.

BF3 was spot on with most features and elements. BF4 has a hard act to follow. My worry is that BF4 is just BF3 with an improved engine and new maps… i.e. little incentive to move from BF3 if you own the premium edition. I'll hopefully get more familiar with it tonight.

crossyYou could always upgrade your GF680 to a nice 7970 - with the Hawaii cards coming out the price of the “older” gear should fall. ;)(I'm joking of course - you're right that it should work nicely with a 680)

Lol I've pretty much done what I can with this PC to speed it up without going the watercooled route, but I'm wasting my time and money with ageing components for gaming. The only thing I might consider is an additional SSD dedicated to new games. At the moment I've got SSD for OS and HDD for data because games are now so big, a 128GB SSD would fill pretty quickly.The whole PC feels sluggish against an i5 Haswell PC I built recently for a fraction of the money compared to what I've thrown at this one over time.